Class in Session

By Megan Carlotta (Aug 9, 2012)Marian seminarian Br. Chris Alar, MIC, has a gift: teaching the Divine Mercy message and devotion as given by Christ to the world in the 1930s through St. Maria Faustina Kowalska.

Pilgrims came from throughout New England, New York, New Jersey, and points south on Saturday, Aug. 4, to attend Br. Chris's "Divine Mercy 101" talk at the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Mass.

While the devotion of Divine Mercy is optional, he said, the message is not. To stress that point, Br. Chris quoted Blessed John Paul II who taught, "If you reject the message of Divine Mercy, you reject the Gospels. If you reject the message of Divine Mercy, you reject the liturgy," because each has the mercy of God and His love for us at its core.

Brother Chris also covered topics such as mercy, suffering, redemption, and how to put Divine Mercy into practice in our everyday lives. At the conclusion of the three-hour talk, despite the increasing hot temperatures in the Shrine, the audience was so captivated that they stayed for a brief Q&A session.

A DVD of "Divine Mercy 101" will be available this Fall. In the meantime, we invite you to take a moment to watch a short clip from Br. Chris' talk in which he discusses Divine Mercy Sunday and why this feast day should serve as a "wake-up call":

We'll let you know, via this website, when the full video is available. In the meantime, the Marians publish a booklet that gives a great synopsis on Divine Mercy. We invite you to order Divine Mercy Message and Devotion.